Skiles Decides to Stay With Bulls

A talk with his boss changed Scott Skiles’ mind, and then it changed his future.

One day after he said he was through negotiating with the Chicago Bulls, Skiles agreed Tuesday to a four-year contract extension to keep coaching the young team he led to a remarkable comeback this season.

It was a heart-to-heart phone conversation with owner Jerry Reinsdorf -- a call that Skiles initiated -- that got the deal done.

“I didn’t want anything to break down because, you know, sort of foolish pride on my part, or some sort of immaturity on my part,” Skiles said. “I wanted to have a man-to-man talk with the owner of my team.”

General Manager John Paxson would not disclose the terms of the contract but said: “He’s going to get paid well, it’s in line with the top coaches.”

Previous reports had said that Skiles, 41, had turned down a four-year, $17-million offer.

In the Bulls’ second season under Skiles, they improved from 23-59 to 47-35 and made the playoffs for the first time in seven years. They lost to Washington in six games in the first round of the playoffs.

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Monday’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat was the most-watched NBA playoff game on cable television, being seen in 6.75 million households.

That surpasses the previous cable high for last year’s Game 6 of the Western Conference finals between the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, which drew 6.46 million households.

Monday night’s game had a 6.2 national rating.

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Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade said he would need seven weeks to recover from the strained right rib muscle that he suffered in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Meanwhile, backup center Alonzo Mourning may be leaning toward a return, citing his 8-year-old son’s words to him.

“He said, ‘I want you to play one more year,’ ” Mourning said. “And that means a lot to me.”

Mourning signed a prorated contract in March with the Heat.

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Chuck Person is moving from the Indiana Pacers’ front office to the bench as an assistant to coach Rick Carlisle.

Person, who has been a special assistant with the team the last three years, will fill the spot that opened when Mike Brown was hired last week as the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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The Philadelphia 76ers acquired a second-round draft pick from the Utah Jazz for a future second-round draft pick, then traded that pick to Detroit.

The 76ers dealt the 60th overall selection to the Pistons to complete a 1997 trade.

Philadelphia had until June 12 to deliver a second-round pick to Detroit or it would have given up its No. 45 selection.